Congress remains locked in a state of suspended animation. Some of Washington's largest business lobbies, however, aren't nearly as paralyzed. They're already organizing and strategizing on how best to influence the lame-duck session and next year's Congress.

Senior Hill staffers and veteran lobbyists agree that the legislative debate over how to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff isn't likely to begin in earnest until after Thanksgiving, but K Street is busy war-gaming possible scenarios, including identifying targets for attack.

Lobbyists are already shopping their wish lists. And because the stakes are so high--few issues separate winners and losers as clearly as taxes--the idea is to lay the groundwork now to ensure that someone else ultimately feels the pain.

And what is that process going to be like? One GOP consultant has an idea: "This is going to be a bat out of hell."